


Virus

by bucketofbarnes



Series: 30 Day RoboWhump Prompt Challenge [9]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor (Detroit: Become Human) Whump, Father-Son Relationship, Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gen, Hurt Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Game(s), Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Protective Parent Hank Anderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 08:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22713187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bucketofbarnes/pseuds/bucketofbarnes
Summary: The first sign of something being different was Connor’s LED beginning to spin, turning from a calm blue into a bright yellow. Gavin bit back a smile, not wanting to give himself away this early.Gavin didn't really know what he had been expecting, but he sure as hell hadn't been expecting this.Or: Gavin Reed is an asshole and doesn't know when to stop.
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson & Connor & Sumo
Series: 30 Day RoboWhump Prompt Challenge [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1397521
Comments: 26
Kudos: 560





	Virus

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the 30 Day Robowhump Prompt Challenge.

It had been months since the end of the revolution. Laws had been put in place declaring androids people, and it didn’t take long after that for law after law to come crashing down. No violence against androids. Androids have a right to their own property. Androids are entitled to a paying job. It made Gavin sick. 

While many androids had gone back to their original jobs, only being given a wage this time, there were also many that poured into different careers. There had been multiple new additions to the police force, some even replacing officers that had left during the evacuation and never returned, or had chosen to transfer out post-revolution. Frankly, he thought it was criminal. All these jobs that had been owned by good, hard working humans were being taken over by cold and unfeeling machines.

Gavin heard a loud cackle from the entrance and his mood soured even further. Anderson and his plastic pet. The Lieutenant had his arm wrapped around the thing’s shoulders, laughing at something. What he was laughing at, he didn’t know. He didn’t fucking care. The android had a smile on its face as it looked at Anderson. He’d always found that weird, those stupid programs, supposed to make it integrate with humans. It was all fake in the end. Every smile, every laugh, faked to manipulate them. Like hell Gavin was about to fall for it. It was a machine after all, it couldn’t feel anything.

Connor and Anderson sat down at their desks, Hank throwing himself into his chair with a heavy sigh, while Connor sat down all proper like some stupid teacher’s pet. Gavin watched them settle in, chatting quietly to each other as they waited for their terminals to switch on. The station itself was quiet, it being a slow enough day that people were taking the time to catch up on paperwork, rather than having to run around for cases. Or at least, attempting to catch up on paperwork. He was pretty sure Collins was in the process of falling asleep over there.

That peace was broken however as Fowler stuck his head out of his office long enough to bellow out two names. “HANK! CONNOR! MY OFFICE, NOW!”

The two of them jerked in surprise and looked towards the office. Connor shot up out of its chair in a flash, looking worried at the summons. Anderson on the other hand groaned like he’d just been asked to climb Mount Everest before heaving himself out of his chair. The two of them made their way into Fowler’s office, Gavin glaring after them. If there was one thing that annoyed him recently, it was Fowler’s tendency to give cases to those two first. If he was being logical, he would know that it was because there were an increasing number of android cases. Anderson and Connor were the most experienced members on the force when it came to dealing with androids, which is why Fowler tended to ask them first. But Gavin was very rarely logical when he was this irritated, and so all he could think was that yet again, they were stealing all the good cases.

Or at least that’s what he thought, before they came out of the office and headed straight towards him. He noticed immediately how they stopped. Connor was stood slightly behind Anderson, the Lieutenant having automatically put himself between the android and Gavin as he usually tended to. It was kind of laughable, that Anderson was so dedicated to trying to protect the thing. He genuinely thought it was a person. He’d probably pity him if he didn’t fucking hate him so much. 

“What the hell do you want?” Gavin sneered at the android. It’s LED flashed yellow once before going back to blue. 

“Unfortunately for all of us, Fowler wants us together on this one.” Anderson grumbled. 

“Oh _hell_ no am I working with you.” He spat, throwing his pen down onto the desk in agitation. 

“Believe me Reed, we don’t wanna be working with you either. But Fowler’s one step away from setting his damn dogs on us and watching the show. So stop whining like a little girl, and listen to the damn case.”

Gavin could feel the blood rushing to his face, flushing an angry red. Who the fuck did he think he was, speaking to him like that? He opened his mouth to tell him exactly what he thought of his little speech, but he was interrupted by the plastic.

“We’ve had reports of androids having serious malfunctions. At first we thought it was just a coincidence, but they’ve been occuring more and more frequently.” It said. “Jericho decided to look into it and from what they’ve discovered, they believe that it’s being caused by a virus.”

“So what? Computer has a virus? Big deal.” Gavin scoffed. “Maybe tell your Jericho buddies to stop wasting police time.”

“We don’t believe it is a waste of police time Detective Reed.” Connor frowned. “We believe that this virus was man-made, specifically created by an anti-android group to harm androids.”

“In the end, it doesn’t really matter what you think Reed. Fowler told us to work together, end of story. Now get off your ass and do your job.” Anderson said, before placing his hand on Connor’s shoulder to lead it back to their desks.

“We’ll send you the relevant information Detective!” Connor called out as they left.

Gavin glared after them as they walked away and sat back down at their terminals. This was just fucking great. A shitty day made even worse by having to work with a tin can and an old drunk. He didn’t think today could get any worse. 

His terminal gave a ping as the promised information popped into his email. He clicked on it and scanned through it quickly. Androids getting all confused, collapsing in the streets. There had been around thirty cases so far and the number was steadily increasing. He still thought this was a complete waste of time. Along with the witness statements and medical reports were attached files. There was video footage of some of the androids malfunctioning, pictures of some of the damaged biocomponents, and one more file that took him a minute to figure out.

It was a copy of the virus.

The androids at Jericho had managed to isolate it and copy it. While they hadn’t been able to create an anti-virus for it yet, they had sent it along to the DPD in the hopes that they could perhaps analyse it, or match it to something else in another of their cases. Personally, Gavin could see a far better use for it. 

Scanning through the notes again, he picked out some relevant points. People to question, places to investigate, etc. He didn’t bother looking at any of the other files. He didn’t want anyone to think he didn’t know how to do his job, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to subject himself to videos of the plastics lying on the ground like they were actually able to feel anything. As a last addition to the email, he copied the virus file and attached it to the email, changing the name so that at first glance it would look like just another witness statement. Finishing off the email, he sent it off to Connor and sat back to await the results.

There was a faint ping from the direction of their desks and Gavin watched in anticipation as the plastic reached for it’s terminal to look at the email. It’s hand reached out to touch it and the screen flicked on. 

The first sign of something being different was Connor’s LED beginning to spin, turning from a calm blue into a bright yellow. Gavin bit back a smile, not wanting to give himself away this early. Any minute now it would start glitching. Anderson would freak. Maybe this would teach him to watch his damn mouth for once.

Gavin didn’t really know what he had been expecting. From what he had read in the email, the androids had just collapsed, had been confused and laid up for a while. Hell, from what he read, it didn’t sound any worse than a bad cold or something. But he sure as hell hadn’t been expecting this.

The android’s LED turned from yellow to a harsh, solid red in a matter of seconds and then it was slipping out of its chair and onto the floor. It’s head knocked against the leg of the desk as it collapsed into a heap on the ground. Anderson was out of his chair in an instant, throwing himself onto the ground next to the android with a curse.

“Connor? C’mon Son, what’s wrong?” He said, voice tense as he placed a hand on its shoulder to give it a gentle shake.

It seemed to tense beneath his hands, it’s entire body going rigid. But before they knew it it began to shake, it’s limbs jerking frantically, unnaturally. There was a bang as one of its arms slammed into the leg of the desk and Anderson cursed again, louder and more desperate this time. The Lieutenant reached out and shoved the desk with all his strength. The shove sent both desks screeching backwards, just far enough that they were out of reach of the seizing android.

Anderson stayed next to Connor, his hands hovering uncertainly above its body. It was obvious that he wanted nothing more than to gather the android up in his arms, to try and protect him, but he knew that it could do more harm than good. His face was etched with sheer terror. Gavin couldn’t believe that he had _wanted_ Anderson to freak out like this.

The seizure only lasted a few minutes, but every minute had the station on edge. Gavin looked around and not one officer was looking at anything other than Connor. Even Fowler was hanging out of his office door, phone to his ear. From the little that he could hear, the Captain was trying to get an android medic to get to the station as quickly as possible. Gavin cursed himself, and everyone else, for not thinking to do that too. The Captain left his office and exited the bullpen at a near run.

Connor finally stopped moving and fell limp on the floor. Anderson finally allowed himself to touch him, one hand reaching out to brush back its dishevelled hair. “Connor?” His voice was soft, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. 

The android’s LED finally went from that solid red to a dim yellow, the light spinning slowly as it’s eyes slid open. Connor stared blankly at the floor beneath it, barely even reacting to the hand in his hair.

“Connor?” Anderson placed his other hand on its shoulders, rubbing comforting circles on its back. The android finally reacted, its eyes sliding up to look at him. It’s mouth opened, but only quiet, garbled static escaped. He winced at the sound. It’s face crumpled and a tear ran down its cheek. 

The Lieutenant’s eyes widened and he moved to wipe away the tears. “It’s okay Connor, you’re okay I promise.” He shushed.

There was a commotion from the front of the precinct as Fowler came back through, an android medic on his heels. The medic dropped down next to Connor. Gavin didn’t catch what else was said, as Fowler was already shooing officers away, telling them that there was nothing to see here. He knew that anyone who ignored him and kept staring would be put on cleaning duty for _months._

Gavin sat down back at his desk. He didn’t even bother picking up a pen and trying to look busy. There was no point. There was movement to the side and he looked to see Anderson and the medic helping Connor to its feet. The android clearly struggled to stand, leaning on them heavily. As they led it out of the building, there was only one clear thought in his mind.

He’d really fucked up this time.

* * *

Connor was in one hell of a state, now that he had woken up. Confused and frightened, he had no idea what was happening. All he knew was that he felt weaker than ever, and that his body was aching in a way that he didn’t think was even possible for androids. Hank held his hand as the medic checked him over, doing his best to keep him calm. The medic reassured them that he was fine. Apparently he’d been very lucky. Other androids that had become infected with the virus had ended up with broken biocomponents, having become damaged due to the stress the virus placed on their systems. It was likely only Connor’s prototype status that had prevented that from happening.

Hank and the medic stood, Connor hanging between them. The android’s legs were shaking like a leaf as he tried to stand, and he hoped they’d be able to get to the car in time before he collapsed again. They moved slowly towards the exit, not wanting to push him too hard. They passed Fowler on the way. Hank took one look at the man and sighed.

“Jeffrey-”

The Captain cut him off. “Don’t worry about it Hank. Just go, okay? Take care of him.”

Hank shot him a brief smile, more of a grimace really considering the situation. Fowler seemed to get the sentiment anyway, smiling back before turning back to his officers and demanding that they got back to work right away before entering his office and slamming the door behind him. 

Typical Fowler.

They got outside and opened the car door, managing to get Connor into the back, lying across the seats. The android curled up loosely on his side and Hank shut the door, turning back to the medic.

“So, is he gonna be okay?”

“He’ll be fine.” She promised. “He’ll be weak for a few days while his systems repair themselves. Make sure he _rests._ ”

“I will.” He said firmly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome Lieutenant. Take care.” She turned and climbed back into the android ambulance, exiting the parking lot and driving away.

Hank climbed into the front seat and looked into the back seat. It looked like Connor had gone into standby in the few minutes that he had been talking to the medic. The kid looked like hell, wrinkled clothes, dishevelled hair, artificial skin paler than normal. The quicker he got him home and into bed the better.

* * *

Hank stood in the doorway of Connor’s room, watching over him as he rested. The room was dim, lit only by that stupid lamp that Simon had gotten him for Christmas. Connor was curled up in a ball on the bed, Sumo sprawled on the bed next to him, snuffling away.

When Hank had parked the car in the driveway, he hadn’t had the heart to wake the kid up. He had unlocked the door quickly before carrying Connor into the house. Sumo was on them in second, sniffing worriedly at Connor’s hand, which was hanging limply at his side. Thankfully the dog didn’t start barking and wake Connor up.

Carrying the android through to his room, he’d carefully undressed the android and put him in some of his softest pyjamas. Laying him on the bed, he’d pulled the thick covers over him, pulling them right up to his chin. Sumo had jumped up onto the bed, not even a full minute later, settling down right next to the android. Hank would be annoyed if he hadn’t known just how much of a comfort Sumo was to Connor when he was hurt or upset.

His mind strayed back to the precinct. Seeing Connor spill out of his chair and onto the floor, seeing him writhing on the ground, hearing the choked static forcing its way out of his voice modulator. And he’d only been able to sit there and watch. He hadn’t been that terrified in a while. The kid had been suffering, and he hadn’t been able to do a damn thing to help him. Hank shook his head violently to banish the thoughts. He would be fine. The medic had promised.

He turned to leave when he heard the covers shifting behind him.

“Hank?” Connor croaked.

The Lieutenant turned back to face him. The android had turned over in the bed, his head resting on the pillow as he stared at him with half lidded eyes. He made his way over to the bed, patting Sumo gently to get him to budge over. The dog huffed dramatically before moving down to the foot of the bed, graciously giving Hank a place to sit. He sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed a hand over the android’s covered shoulder.

“Hey son, how’re you feeling?”

The android stared up at him, and he could practically see the gears in his head turning as he tried to gather the energy to think of a response. “Tired.” 

“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Hank snorted softly.

“I don’t know how this happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“How did I become infected with the virus?” He wondered. “I wasn’t in contact with any of the infected androids. I don’t understand.”

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Hank said firmly. “We’ll figure it out later. But right now, you need to rest, okay?”

Connor looked like he wanted to protest, but he was too tired to do so. He nodded softly, before relaxing back into the bed, curling up underneath the covers again. He buried his face in the pillow as he slowly slipped into standby, his LED fading to a soft, pulsing blue. Hank smiled down at the sleeping android, smoothing the covers down and tucking him in a bit more securely. Standing up, he looked at the dog at the end of the bed.

“Sumo?” The dog looked up at him, his tail wagging softly. “Look after him for me, okay?”

The dog boofed softly before resting his head on his paws and closing his eyes. Hank left the room, closing the door over gently. He was sure to leave a gap, just in case Connor called for him during the night. The last thing he wanted was for the android to try and get up to find him when he was feeling so weak. He made his way into his room and sat on the bed with a heavy sigh. It had been a long day, but hopefully things would be better by tomorrow.

There was a ping from his bedside table. He picked his phone up, glaring at the screen when he saw that it was Fowler. He had better not be demanding that they both come back tomorrow morning. Unlocking his phone, he clicked on the message. What he read had a burning rage flowing through his veins.

**‘Database got pinged. A copy was made of the virus and attached to an email sent to Connor. It was Detective Reed.’**

Hank was halfway across the room to get his shoes. Months. It had been fucking _months_ and Reed still couldn’t get his head out of his ass. He’d watched as Reed had insulted and belittled Connor over the past few months, sneering at him, trying to trip him up, purposely talking to humans instead of the androids. He’d done what he could to protect the kid, hoping to God that Reed would eventually grow up, but this time he had gone too far. His phone sounded again. He was tempted to ignore it, but picked it back up with a growl.

**‘It’s being dealt with Hank. Reed won’t be getting away with it this time. Stay with Connor, he needs you right now.’**

He glared down at his phone, annoyance warring with the more logical part of his mind. He still wanted to go and teach Gavin a lesson. But Jeffrey was right. Connor was too weak to be left alone right now. If something went wrong and he tried to get up he was more likely to hurt himself worse. 

He threw his phone back down onto the nightstand and rubbed his face with his hands, doing his best to cool down. He’d have to trust Jeffrey this time. Connor had been there for him even before the revolution, badgering him about his health and drinking habits, listening when he needed to vent, doing his best to comfort him in his worst moments. The android had been a rock these past few months, and Hank honestly didn’t know what he would do without him. Now it was his turn to return the favour. He lay back down on his bed, listening carefully one last time to make sure Connor was okay in his room, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A week later, and Connor finally felt strong enough to return to work, though Fowler had insisted that he was on desk duty for a while, with no room for argument. He didn’t feel any real need to argue, he knew that pushing himself too soon would end in tears. Though his systems had repaired significantly since the incident, they still were not up to 100%. He still had moments where he felt weak or dizzy and had to take a moment to gather himself. He couldn’t thank Hank enough. The Lieutenant had stayed home with him when he was at his worst, bedridden and too weak to even stand. He didn't know how he would have managed without him.

Coming back to work had been strange. Officers had stopped and greeted him, asking how he was. And when he had reached his desk the first thing he saw was the Get Well Soon cards cluttering its surface, one from almost every officer, even some of the ones who had been indifferent towards him until now. Hank had grumbled at that, saying that it shouldn’t have taken him collapsing in the middle of the precinct for them to accept that he was a person. Connor was just glad that people were finally starting to accept him.

Sitting down at his terminal, he stared at it for a moment, remembering the feeling of the virus taking over his systems. He almost didn’t want to touch it. What if it happened again? Logically he knew that it wouldn’t. After the incident, Fowler had ordered a full scan of every terminal in the precinct. Any trace of the virus had been stripped from the terminal, and a new system had been put in place to scan every file that came through an email and flag it if it was anything even slightly suspicious. He felt slightly guilty to have caused so much commotion, but he knew that it wasn’t his fault. He also knew that Hank would set him straight if he even considered believing that it was.

Connor smiled as he sorted through the Get Well Soon cards. The designs ranged from pretty to outright strange. The one from Chris had a picture of a plant on the front, with a sad face. It was signed from him, his partner and little Damian. Connor had met him once. He hadn’t been able to believe how tiny he was. 

His favourite card had to be the one from Tina. It had a puppy on the front, tongue lolling out happily. It reminded him of Sumo when they gave him treats. 

As he reached the back of the scattering of cards, he noticed a small box. It was only about the size of his hand, its wrapping a shiny silver. Unwrapping it cautiously, he lifted the lid of the box and blinked at what was within. It was a tiny little bobblehead figure, shaped like a St Bernard. He loved it immediately. Resting underneath the figure was a folded piece of card with only one word written on it in jagged handwriting.

**_‘Sorry’_ **

He knew immediately who it was from. Looking across the precinct, he stared at Gavin’s empty desk, the detective having been suspended for his actions. This wasn’t the end of their little fued, Connor wasn’t naive enough to believe that, but this was the first time that he had ever apologised for what he had done. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> bucketofbarnes.tumblr.com


End file.
